CHRONICLE’s Josh Trank in Talks to Direct SPIDER-MAN Spin-Off, VENOM

Banking on the success of the found-footage superhero film, Chronicle, word has it that Sony is looking to the film’s director, Josh Trank, to helm its Spider-Man spin-off, Venom. With the studio’s The Amazing Spider-Man reboot swinging into theaters on July 3rd, perhaps there’s room for the psychotic symbiotic to be featured as a main antagonist in an upcoming film, rather than the sidenote he became in 2007’s Spider-Man 3, played by Topher Grace. Venom, an alien symbiotic life form that bonds with its host for survival, has been a mainstay in the world of Marvel nemeses and could further open up the Spider-Man storyline if the creative team chose to go in that direction. Being a big fan of Trank’s work on Chronicle, I’d be very interested to see what he could do with a big budget superhero flick. Hit the jump for more on Venom.

The LA Times is reporting that Trank is in negotiations with the studio to direct a Venom spin-off from Sony and Columbia Pictures’ Spider-Man franchise. The project has been in the works for a while and has been associated with such names as Zombieland’s Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, director Gary Ross (The Hunger Games) who was in talks with the studio previously before turning it down and Jacob Estes (The Details) who turned in a script portraying Venom as more of an antihero and less as a villain. While it appears that the studio is not looking to redeem the villainous character in any way (they’re seeking a new writer), they’re also not looking to bring back Topher Grace to reprise his role. For that, at least, fans can be thankful.